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READING TIME 
STORIES 


LIBRARY OF 
“JUST RIGHT BOOKS” 

BOUND—DOUBLE BACKED- 

UNBREAKABLE 

The Tiddly Winks 
Open Air Stories 
Surprise Stories 
Gingerbread Boy 
The Party Twins 
Doll Land Stories 
The Treasure Twins 
Tale of Curly Tail 
Washington’s Boyhood 
Reading Time Stories 
Comical Circus Stories 
Knowledge Primer Games 
Real Out-of-Door Stories 
Jolly Polly and Curly Tail 
Fifty Funny Animal Tales 
The Flower and Berry Babies 
In and Out-Door Playgames 
A Child’s Garden of Verses 
Busy Fingers Drawing Primer 
Happy Manikin in Manners Town 
The Vegetable and Fruit Children 
The Dinner That Was Always There 
Six Tiddly Winks and The A to 
Zees 





They Asked the Fisherman 

(Sailor Man Ashore) 




























READING TIME 
STORIES 

.By GARPIXN SHEKWIN BAILEY 


Author of 

LINCOLN TIME STORIES, 
SURPRISE STORIES, etc. 



FULLY ILLUSTRATED 

“a just right book!’ 

ALBERT 'WHITMAN COMPANY 
PUBLISHERS 
CHICAGO • I>S*A 

hllSj 









READING TIME STORIES 

Copyright, 1923, by Albert Whitman & Co. 
Chicago, U. S. A. 



PZ? 

.6151 

Rut - 




i 




AUG 29 23 « A JUST RIGHX book” 


MADE IN THE U. S. A. 



©S1A7S2720 







CONTENTS 


Jack Frost’s Cousin.Page 9 

The First Day of School. “ 17 

The Sewing Story . “ 27 

Sailor Man Ashore. “ 37 

How Peep-Peep Saw the World. “ 47 

The Joyous Rain Drops. “ 55 

Helping Blue-Coat . “ 65 

Rompers For Teddy. “ 74 

Scamper-Toes’ Thanksgiving . “ 84 

The Hen That Laid a Golden Egg. “ 93 

The Lonesome Garden. “ 103 


5 






















6 


















LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

They Asked the Fisherman.Frontispiece 

Jack Frost’s Cousin.Page 8 

Jack Was As Warm As He Could Be.... . “ 13 

Brown-Braids’ Dear Canary . “ 18 

It Might Be a Play-room. “ 23 

Here are Billy Dorthy and Herbert. “ 26 

Where Are You Going, Silver One?. “ 31 

What a Nice Story, Mother. “ 35 

A Hop and a Skip and Away We Run. “ 44 

School is Out . “ 46 

The Children Were Out Scattering Corn. “ 53 

Then Fleecy Clouds Opened Her Arms Wide. “ 56 

The Duck Was Glad Indeed When Drip Fell On Her Back.. “ 63 

The Children Had a Happy Thought. “ 65 

The Children Crowded Around Their Very Own Policeman.. “ 71 

The Dolls Smiled at Teddy. “ 75 

Having a Bear for a Brother. “ 82 

We Don’t Need These Nuts, Said Betty. “ 90 

Nancy Almost Cried .;. “ 95 

Come Right Down and We Will Play. “ 100 

The Rain Did Not Want the Garden to Be Lonesome. “ 103 

Every Day I will Come Out With My Watering Pot. “ 110 


7 























•> 0 











* 





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J'fo'oo n eHov\eD lx o r\ 


Cousin 




8 
















































READING TIME STORIES 


Jack Frost’s Cousin 

That cold morning in January big 
Jack Frost got up out of the wrong 
side of his bed in his castle of ice and 
snow. “There’s a boy I know who 
says he isn’t afraid of me,” said Big 
Jack Frost in his hardest, chilliest, 
sharp-as-icicles kind of voice, “and this 
morning I intend to show him a thing 
or two.” And with that Jack Frost 
put on his ice helmet, his snow over¬ 
coat and his seven league snow shoes 


10 


READING TIME STORIES 


that were shod with icicles. Then he 
started down the hills and across the 
valleys until he came to the town of 
Happy Hollow where this brave boy 
lived. 

The boy, whose name was Jack, was 
at breakfast. It was Saturday morn¬ 
ing with a long play day ahead. 

“I’ll spoil his play,” said Big Jack 
Frost. “I’ll make the air so frosty 
that it will freeze his ears.” So Jack 
Frost made the Saturday morning air 
cold enough to freeze Jack’s ears. 

“Whee-ee, it’s cold!” said Jack as 
he looked out of the kitchen door, 
“but I don’t mind that. I will put on 
my cap that comes down over my 
ears.” 




JACK FROST’S COUSIN 


11 


“Well,” thought Jack Frost, “I can 
at least freeze that boy’s nose,” And 
with that Jack Frost made the Satur¬ 
day morning air so very freezing cold 
that it nipped Jack’s nose. 

“I’m glad mother knitted me this 
muffler,” said Jack as he pulled his 
warm, thick, woolen muffler up to keep 
his cold nose warm. “I don’t mind 
this weather at all. ” And down to the 
gate went Jack. 

Then Big Jack Frost was very angry. 
“I will spoil the brook for that boy,” 
he said, “I will make it so hard and so 
slippery and so cold that he can’t play 
there.” So Jack Frost covered the 
singing brook with a thick roof of 
glaring ice. “Now,” he thought to 




12 


READING TIME STORIES 


himself as he watched the boy going 
down through the snowy meadow to 
the brook, “he can’t sail boats or skip 
stones in his brook today or for a 
number of days.” 

But Jack had his new skates slung 
over his shoulder. He did not know 
how to skate, for he was only seven 
years old, but he was going to try and 
learn. He strapped on his skates and 
started off. He didn’t mind a few 
bumps when he fell down. Up he got 
and started off again. 

“More ice!” thought Big Jack Frost, 
“and smoother, more slippery ice!” 
So Jack Frost iced the brook as it had 
never before been frozen over. It was 
sparkling, cold, glary ice. One had to 




Jack Was as Warm as Could Be 












































14 


READING TIME STORIES 


skate fast to keep up, and to keep 
from freezing. 

But Jack could balance himself bet¬ 
ter now on his skates. And a little 
girl he knew brought him a ball and a 
hockey stick to play with. He had to 
skate very fast to follow the ball as it 
rolled along the ice. It was fun! Jack 
was as warm as could be. His cheeks 
were rosy, and he liked the cold. “Who 
is afraid of Jack Frost!” he shouted as 
he glided over the ice. 

“Who is laughing at you, Jack 
Frost?” tinkled the icicles on the trees 
as Big Jack Frost took his way home 
to his castle that night. 

“Who is laughing at you, Jack 
Frost?” creaked the snow. 




JACK FROST’S COUSIN 


IS 


“Who is laughing at you, Jack 
Frost?” snapped the icy crust on the 
fields. The whole winter knew that 
something had happened to make Big 
jack Frost feel uncomfortable, for the 
cold air rang and echoed with the 
voices of the children at play. 

Big Jack Frost knew that he must 
say something. He had found out 
that he was not really so important a 
giant as he had thought he was. 

“Oh, it doesn’t matter about that,” 
Jack Frost said. “It’s only a young 
cousin of mine named Jack. Of course 
I can’t expect my cousin to be afraid 
of me.” 




16 


READING TIME STORIES 


But deep down in his icy large heart 
Jack Frost knew that he had found a 
boy who really liked the cold. 



I 























The First Day of School 

It was the first day of school and the 
friends, Yellow-Curls and Brown- 
Braids, stood sorrowfully in front of 
the big apartment house where they 
lived. One round, bright tear rolled 
down the cheeks of Yellow-Curls. One 
round, bright tear wanted to run down 
the cheeks of Brown-Braids. They had 
never been to school before, but now 
they were of the right age. This was 
the day when they must go to the first 
grade and they did not want to. 

“Good-bye to the Story-Lady,” 
sighed Yellow-Curls. “Now we will 
have no more time to go and see her 

17 


18 


HEADING TIME STORIES 


and listen to her stories.” And this 
was too bad, for the pretty, young 


Brown-Braids* Dear Canary 



Story-Lady had come to live in their 
apartment house and they had loved 
to visit her. 










FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL 


19 


“Good-bye to my play room/’ sigh¬ 
ed Brown-Braids. “Now I shall have 
very little time to dig in my sand box 
and draw colored pictures and take 
care of Yellow-Bill.” And this was 
also too bad, for it was the merriest 
kind of a play room and Yellow-Bill 
was Brown-Braid’s dear canary who 
sang to the two friends as they played, 
until it seemed as if he would burst his 
wee throat. 

“How we shall miss playing house 
and the racing games and the make- 
believe games with the other children 
on our block!” said Yellow-Curls. 

“And our story books! ” added 
Brown-Braids, “but now it is time for 
us to start for the first grade.” 




20 


READING TIME STORIES 


So these two little girl friends went 
sorrowfully down their block and 
around the corner and in through the 
gate of the school yard. It was a new 
school with a white front door with 
pillars. It was built of bricks and it 
had many large windows. 

“It looks a little like our apartment 
house,” said Yellow-Curls in surprise, 
smiling a teeny-weeny smile 

“And here are Billy and Dorothy 
and Herbert and all the rest of the 
children from our block,” said Brown- 
Braids with just a very little happiness 
in her voice. 

“Well, I am afraid to go in and see 
the teacher,” said Yellow-Curls as she 
and Brown-Braids and all their friends 




FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL 


21 


went in the white door between the 
pillars. Then she said, ‘ ‘ Oh ,” for a sur¬ 
prise awaited her. So did Brown- 
Braids and Billy and Dorothy and 
Herbert say, ‘‘ Oh,” for it was their own 
dear Story-Lady who stood at the en¬ 
trance to the first grade room to wel¬ 
come them, smiling to see how 
surprised they were to see her. The 
Story-Lady was the new teacher of the 
first grade, and she had kept it a secret 
until the first day of school. 

Such a sunny room, too! There was 
gold sunlight streaming in through 
all the wide windows just as it did at 
home. It made little gold paths and 
round little gold rugs on the floor. 




22 


READING TIME STORIES 


“It might be a play room!” whisper¬ 
ed Brown-Braids across the aisle to 
Yellow-Curls, “with these nice green 
seats and the desks that can be moved 
to the wall for games.” 

“And a sand box and picture books 
and colored pencils!” said Yellow- 
Curls. 

Suddenly there was a clear, sweet 
bird call from the window. There, in 
his cage, was Yellow-Bill’s bird cousin, 
the first grade canary, to sing to the 
children as they worked. 

It was work that was better and 
more fun than play. The children 
made a model of their own block in the 
sand box with block houses and green 





“It Might Be a Play Room” Whispered Broivn-Braids 


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23 
























24 


READING TIME STORIES 


twigs for the trees. That was their 
first lesson in geography. They play¬ 
ed a nice make-believe game, acting 
the stories in their new reading books, 
and then they sat down and read the 
words about it that were printed on 
the pages. Then there were real 
games, all the neighbor children and 
the Story-Lady playing together out 
in the school yard. It was just as 
pleasant as playing games in front of 
the apartment house at home. 

When the games were over each 
child in the first grade had a piece of 
white paper and a box of large colored 
pencils for writing and making pic¬ 
tures. They fed seeds to the canary 





FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL 


25 


and modeled in clay and wrote on the 
blackboard. How jolly the first day 
of school had been! 

The Story-Lady walked home with 
Yellow-Curls and Brown-Braids. “Did 
I see two little girls standing sorrow¬ 
fully in front of our house this morn¬ 
ing, because they did not want to go 
to school?” she asked. 

“Yes,” said Yellow-Curls. 

“We dreaded the first day of 
school,” Brown-Braids told her. 

“Never dread anything, dears,” said 
the Story-Lady. “It is never half so 
bad as you think it is going to be.” 

‘ ‘And maybe it turns out to be nice,’ ’ 
said Yellow-Curls, remembering the 
nice first day in school. 





Here are Billy, Dorothy and Herbert 


26 



The Sewing Story 

“Once upon a time, mother dear,” 
Emily began as she sat down beside 
mother with the sewing she was to do. 
Mother, too, was sewing, but her needle 
went in and out of the white cloth 
so easily, and Emily’s needle traveled 
more slowly. Emily thought that one 
of mother’s stories would help with the 
pillow case she was seaming. So did 
mother, and she started the story. 

“Once upon a time,” mother told 
Emily, “there was a slender little fairy 
who always wore a long white train 
behind her silvery dress. She was a 

27 


28 


READING TIME STORIES 


useful fairy, always trying to help 
others, and she lived in a little round 
house with her family. It was a red 
house and very soft and warm inside. 

Well, one day this fairy found her¬ 
self a long way from home. She had 
started out upon a very long, white 
road and she had decided to leave bits 
of her beautiful long white train as she 
went to show that she was not at all 
proud but anxious to serve the world. 
It was a train made of the sheerest 
linen and as white as snow. It would 
make any road beautiful. So the fairy 
set out, and she had not gone very far 
when she met a little girl. 

“Where are you going, Silver One?” 
asked the little girl. 




THE SEWING STORY 


29 


“I am on my way home to my little 
round red house,” the fairy said, “but 
first I am going to give away bits of 
my long white train along this road.” 

“How nice that will be,” said the 
child, taking the fairy’s hand' “I 
will go with you and help hold your 
long white train.” So the child did 
this, but, oh, dear, the child’s hands 
were not clean. She dirtied the white 
train and she made the silvery dress 
sticky, but still the fairy went on. 

And after a while she met an ugly 
Knot there on the long white road. 
Anyone could tell that it was a Knot, 
because it had a body like a fat little 




30 


READING TIME STORIES 


gnome and only one eye. There stood 
the Knot in the road in front of the 
fairy and would not let her go on. 

“Where are you going, Silver One?” 
asked the Knot. 

“I am on my way home to my little 
round, red house,” the fairy said, “and 
my dress is sticky from a child’s fin¬ 
gers, but first I am going to give away 
all of my long white train along this 
road.” 

“We shall see about that,” said the 
ugly Knot, getting in the way and 
trying to trip the fairy and the 
child. But it did not succeed. The 
fairy went on and on, down the long, 
white road, and presently she came 







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Where Are You Going, Silver One?” Asked the Knot 


31 































32 


HEADING TIME STORIES 


upon a disagreeable Tangle. Anyone 
could have told that it was a Tangle, 
because it had never combed or brush¬ 
ed its hair. There, right in front of 
the fairy stood the Tangle, spreading 
out its long locks to trip her feet. 

“Where do you think you are going, 
Silver One?” asked the Tangle in a 
snarling voice like the voice of a witch. 

The fairy was discouraged, but she 
would not give up. No, indeed, she 
would not. 

“I am on my way to my little round, 
red house,” she told the tiresome Tan¬ 
gle, “and my dress is sticky from this 
child’s fingers and I have just had to 
step over an ugly Knot. But before 




THE SEWING STORY 


33 


I get through I am going to give away 
all of my train to make this white road 
beautiful.” And with that the fairy 
and the child untangled the Tangle 
and went right through it, and on. 

After that the fairy met all sorts of 
other troubles. Her train grew quite 
gray where the child stepped on it, and 
there were smaller Knots who kept 
jumping out of unexpected places, and 
once they met a Tangle that took off 
a piece of the fairy’s train, just bit it 
off, for herself. Still the fairy went 
on and after a while she trained 
the child to help her along the white 
road. They divided the linen train 
into pieces that were all of the same 




34 


READING TIME STORIES 


size and left them behind them, and at 
last they came to the fairy’s little 
round, red house. 

There the child left her and she was 
so glad, for all she wanted to do was to 
go inside her house and sharpen her 
nose. The house was built in the 
shape of a fat tomato—.” 

“Mother!” said Emily, looking up 
from her sewing. “That is a funny 
story!” Then she looked down again 
at the pillow case seam she was sew¬ 
ing. 

A long white road, along which a 
sticky, silvery needle stepped and left 
pieces of her train of thread behind in 
the stitches. There had been knots in 





35 



















36 


READING TIME STORIES 


Emily’s sewing and tangles too, but 
it was going nicely now. In mother’s 
sewing basket was the fat, round, to¬ 
mato pin cushion house in which the 
needle fairy would sharpen her nose 
when she came to the end of her seam. 

“What a nice story, mother!” 
Emily finished. “I shall take better 
care of the needle fairy after this.” 





Sailor Man Ashore 

He was neither a doll nor a boy. It 
was very, very strange about the little 
Sailor Man. Dressed in a natty sailor 
suit of white with a wide collar and a 
flowing tie, he stood day and night on 
the yacht’s rail outside the sand bar 
with his arms waving a pair of wooden 
oars. He seemed to be made of wood 
himself, but one could not be sure 
about that. The twins, Tilly and 
Milly, and their little dogs, Whisker 
and Frisker, who had come to the 
beach for the summer, had not gone 
near enough to the water to look at 
him closely. 


38 


READING TIME STORIES 


“He never goes to bed,” said Tilly. 
“He just stands there on the deck rail 
all the time, swinging his oars.” 

“He watches the winds and the 
tides,” said Milly. “When the wind 
is in the west he points that way with 
one of his oars. Poor little sailor 
man, out there at sea in every kind of 
weather!” 

“Bow, wow!” said Whisker. “Just 
let that sailor man come near our cot¬ 
tage, and you will see me eat him up.” 

“Bow, wow,” said Frisker, “please 
let me shake him up a bit first.” 

But the little sailor man never did 
come ashore. Thetwinswatchedhimas 
they dug wells in the sand and saw how 




SAILOR MAN ASHORE 


39 


he balanced himself on the rail of the 
ship that seemed to be all the home he 
knew. Sometimes the waves rose 
around him, drenching his white suit. 
Sometimes his ship rolled so much that 
he seemed to be riding in the trough of 
the water. But never once did he drop 
his pair of stout little oars. Let the 
wind change—he was as quick to 
change his oars, pointing where it 
blew. 

The twins had never in all their 
lives seen anything like him. 

“Does that little sailor man ever 
come ashore?” they asked the fisher¬ 
man who mended his nets in the sun¬ 
shine of the beach near where they 




40 


READING TIME STORIES 


played. The fisherman looked puzzled 
for a moment. Then his eyes twinkled. 

“Well, I never saw a little man like 
that ashore in my time, but they do 
say that once a weather man like him 
came in with the tide and made a lot 
of trouble hereabouts.” 

“What did he do?” asked Tilly. 

“Well, mind you it’s only what I’ve 
heard,” said the fisherman, “but they 
said he took all the children’s pails and 
shovels for the length of the beach and 
gave them to the little mermaids.” 

“Oh, dear!” said Milly. 

“Bow, wow,” barked Whisker and 
Frisker, “Let him come. We will fix 
him!” 




SAILOR MAN ASHORE 


41 


But the days, all blue like the sky 
and the water, and golden with the sun, 
went by and the twins forgot about 
the little sailor man. They even left 
their sand toys out on the beach all 
night, safely away from the tide. They 
were always sure to find them there in 
the morning. And one morning they 
heard a great barking as they went 
down to the beach. What do you 
think they saw! 

Little Sailor Man was alive and 
ashore! There he was digging with 
Tilly’s pail and shovel in the white 
sand. He was dressed just as they 
had seen him on the yacht in long 
white trousers and a wide collar and 
a flowing tie. 




42 


READING TIME STORIES 


Whisker and Frisker saw little Sailor 
Man too. Barking, rolling over each 
other in their hurry to eat him up, 
down raced the two dogs to the beach. 
They had never eaten a sailor in their 
lives and they would not know how to 
begin, but Whisker and Frisker were 
going to try. 

“He does not look any older than we 
are,” said Tilly. 

“Perhaps he has never had a chance 
to dig in the sand before,” said Milly. 
So they went down to the beach to 
keep Whisker and Frisker from eating 
up the little wooden sailor man who 
was now alive. 

And they found him playing with 
the two small dogs. ‘‘ Good morning, ’ ’ 




SAILOR MAN ASHORE 


43 


he said to the twins politely. “Have 
you come to play with me?” 

“Where are your oars?” asked Tilly. 

“How will the wind blow without 
you?” asked Milly. 

Little Sailor Man looked surprised. 
Then he laughed. “Oh, you are think¬ 
ing of my weather man on the deck 
rail of our yacht,” he said. “The cap¬ 
tain carved him to look just like me. 
The yacht has sailed to Green Harbor 
today to be painted and mother and 
I are living in a cottage near yours 
for the rest of the summer. Will you 
play with me?” 

What fun! 

“A real little, live little Sailor Man!” 
said Tilly. 














SAILOR MAN ASHORE 


45- 


“A hop and a skip and away we 
ran!” shouted Milly. 

“Blow, wind, blow as hard as you 
can! You can’t keep up with a Sailor 
Man,” said the boy who was going 
to be such a good playmate. And 
Whisker and Frisker went barking on 
ahead telling everybody what a funny- 
mistake they had all made and how 
finely everything had turned out. 










School is Out 


46 












How Peep-Peep Saw the 
World 

Once upon a time there was a small 
yellow chicken named Peep-Peep, and 
as soon as he clipped his shell and came 
out on his two yellow legs he discovered 
that he had a great wish. He did not 
want to stay at home on the farm. 
No, he would not stay at home on the 
farm. Peep-Peep wanted to go out in 
the world and find his fortune. So he 
crept under the garden gate and he 
started up a road, a small yellow 
chicken, all by himself. 

“A field of corn, just for me!” said 
Peep-Peep as he made his way along 

47 


48 


READING TIME STORIES 


through the dust that was almost up 
to his feathers. “I will go on until 
I find a field of corn that I can own.” 



“A Field of Corn Just for Me!” Said Peep-Peep 


So this little chicken went on and on 
until he came to a wide field full of 
standing ears of corn. There it was 
right before his eyes. 






HOW PEEP-PEEP SAW THE WORLD 


49 


But, oh, dear, the corn stood too 
high for him! Peep-Peep was nearly 
lost in the jungle of the corn field and 
he was not able to reach a single kernel. 
So he had to start along the road 
again. 

“The largest chicken-run in the 
world, for my home!” said Peep-Peep 
next as he went on again through the 
dust. “I will go on until I find that 
chicken-run.” So this little chicken 
went on and on until he came to a 
great chicken-run beside the road. 
There were houses for all kinds of hens, 
red hens, white hens and speckled hens. 
There were hundreds of chickens run¬ 
ning about and doing as they wished. 




50 


READING TIME STORIES 


Peep-Peep went into the chicken-run 
and he mingled with the other fowls. 
He heard an old rooster talking in a 
wise way to the older chickens. 

“Cock-a-doodle-doo. Sixty two-o of 
you!” crowed the rooster and the 
chickens seemed alarmed. 

“What is he saying?” asked Peep- 
Peep. 

“Sixty two of us young chickens will 
be taken to market tomorrow,” a 
young Rhode Island Red told him. 

“Dear me, what a narrow escape 
I have had!” said Peep-Peep to him¬ 
self as he hurried out of the large 
chicken-run and took his way again 
along the road. But he was not 
through wishing. 




HOW PEEP-PEEP SAW THE WORLD 


51 


“A mother with fine feathers!” he 
said to himself, although he was too 
hungry and tired to peep very loudly. 
“I will go on until I have found a hen 
with the finest feathers in the world.” 

As the little chicken went on, his 
peeping was heard and, suddenly, the 
very mother for whom he had been 
wishing appeared beside the road. She 
had a family with her, but she made 
room among them for Peep-Peep. She 
had bright beautiful feathers that 
shone in the sun. She even wore orange 
boots. 

Peep-Peep followed his new mother, 
although now he was scarcely able to 
walk. “She will lead us to corn and 
water,” he thought. And just when 




52 


HEADING TIME STORIES 


it seemed as if the little chicken could 
not take another step the fowl with 
fine feathers led them all to water. It 
was a deep and wide pond. In she 
went, and all her family followed leav¬ 
ing Peep-Peep frightened on the bank. 

He had taken an old duck for a 
mother. 

There seemed nothing then for Peep- 
Peep to do but to find his way home 
again. It was a long, hard way through 
the deep dust, but he accomplished 
the journey. He came back to his 
farm toward the end of the day and 
crept back under the gate. 

The children were out scattering 
corn. As Peep-Peep watched them and 
ate, it seemed to him that he had found 





53 













































54 


READING TIME STORIES 


a field of corn for himself. How com¬ 
fortable the chicken coop looked! And 
his mother’s feathers shone in the set¬ 
ting sun with a pleasant color. They 
were thick enough, Peep-Peep knew, 
to cover a whole family of chickens. 
He had seen the world, but he had 
found that everything he had looked 
for was to be found right there at 
home. 





The Joyous Raindrops 


Their mother, Fleecy Cloud, had 
said that they must take the journey 
down to the green hill. 

“The hill needs you, Patter Rain¬ 
drop,” the cloud had said in her soft 
white voice which only a little drop 
of rain can hear. “The hill needs you 
for its grass is thirsty.” 

And to the drop of rain who was 
named Splash, Fleecy Cloud said, 
“There are two young birch trees 
standing side by side on the top of the 
green hill like young brothers. Their 

55 




Then Fleecy Cloud Opened Her Arms Wide 


56 















JOYOUS RAINDROPS 


57 


roots are thirsty, Splash. Your errand 
is to give the birch tree brothers a 
drink.” 

Then Fleecy Cloud opened her arms 
wide, for she knew that the little drop 
of rain whose name was Drip had hid¬ 
den in her fluffy, flowing sleeves. “I 
see you, Drip,” said Fleecy Cloud, 
“and you must go with the rest of the 
family down to the green hill. There 
is a tiny streamlet that starts near 
the birch tree brothers on the top of 
the green hill. It runs down the hill 
to the brook and then into the pond. 
But that stream is very, very dry. It 
needs your help for filling it. Now 
hurry, and good luck to you!” And 
with that Fleecy Cloud hung so low 




58 


READING TIME STORIES 


that she seemed to almost touch the 
green hill with her white fingers. And 
down started Patter, Splash and Drip. 

“I don’t want to go,” said Patter in 
his small, watery voice. “No one likes 
me. The children cry when it rains.” 

“I don’t want to go,” said Splash 
in his wet, tinkling voice, “If I were 
bright like a sunbeam the children 
would smile when I come, but they only 
frown at me.” 

“Why do we mind our mother?” 
said Drip, “when she gives us such un¬ 
pleasant errands to do. Why couldn’t 
we plan to do what we like?” 

“Then I shall bump myself so hard 
on an ugly old umbrella that I won’t 
have to water the grass,” Patter de¬ 
cided. 




JOYOUS RAINDROPS 


59 


“And I shall hide myself in a hole 
in a fat overshoe, if I can find one,” 
said Splash. “What do I care about a 
pair of young birch tree brothers!” 

“I will run away,” said Drip, “but 
not to the brook. I think I will try to 
find my way to the sea. We are all 
so unhappy that we could be of no 
use to the hill. Why were we not 
born sunbeams!” 

Tinkle, patter, splatter, a whole 
shower of other drops of rain had joined 
the three discontented ones on their 
way down to earth. As they fell they 
made a kind of happy tune and the 
voices of these others were drowned in 
their singing. 




60 


READING TIME STORIES 


“ We bloom beside the waiting grass. 

In violets where children pass.” 

sang the raindrops. And all the way 
down they sang other gay little tunes. 

“Each drop upon a thirsty tree. 

A leaf to hide, a nest will be. ” 

Merry tunes all of them! 

Patter, Splash and Drip, cross and 
unwilling, could not help but listen 
to the song of the rain. Their own 
voices could not be heard above the 
rush of the shower. “Umbrellas, over¬ 
shoes!” they tried to say and then they 
stopped, for none of the other rain¬ 
drops paid the least attention to them. 
All were rushing down as fast as they 
could to the earth. 





- 


i 

7 

/ 

/ 




mm 




// 


Wx-t*? 


- r* hi, I / 

' M . ,// 

- XV 

X,'. \ 

. _ ^ . X 




The Duck Was Glad Indeed When Drip Fell on Her Back 


61 




































































62 


READING TIME STORIES 


“The children will tell them how 
little we are wanted,” the three said 
to each other but, suddenly, they had 
arrived. Plump, Patter had fallen on 
the grass at the top of the hill just 
where Fleecy Cloud had intended him 
to. 

“Quack, quack,” said the white 
duck from the pond who had come all 
the way along the brook and up the 
hill to see when the stream would flow 
again. The duck was glad indeed when 
Drip fell on her back. Off she waddled 
to tell the whole barnyard that the 
rain had come. Splash fell at the roots 
of the birch tree and just before he 
went down into the earth he heard the 
happy voices of the children. Yes, 




JOYOUS RAINDROPS 


63 


there were the children at the top of 
the hill to welcome the rain. The toy 
ship was there, also, waiting for the 
rain. No one was thinking of ugly 
umbrellas or anything except what 
wonderful things a spring shower can 
do. The children wore their rubbers 
and they could run down the hill be¬ 
fore the shower caught them. 

“The sun’s a pleasant sight to see, 
But joyous too the rain can be.” 
All the drops were singing now, and 
with them sang Patter, Splash and 
Drip, for the children were glad to see 
them after all. 





4 


64 






The Children Had a Happy Thought 


Helping Blue Goat 

All the school children knew Blue- 
Coat, the kind policeman in a blue 
uniform with brass buttons, who stood 
at the street crossing in front of their 
school building. Some children might 
feel a little timid of such great man in 

65 


66 


READING TIME STORIES 


such a fine uniform and having a club 
at his side, but not the boys and girls 
of the Flower School. 

In the first place, it was a different 
school with boxes of gay red and pink 
geraniums at the windows. That was 
why the children had named it the 
Flower School, although it was just 
one of the city’s public buildings. In 
the second place they were different 
primary and kindergarten children, al¬ 
ways neat and with clean faces and 
hands and never, oh, never late in the 
morning! That was the way in which 
they tried to match their clean, flowery 
bright school. 

And, for the third place, their police¬ 
man was different from any other Blue- 




HELPING BLUE COAT 


67 


Coat, they felt, in the whole city. He 
never had to stop any fights, for the 
boys at that corner did not fight. 
From the beginning of school until the 
close Blue-Coat stood at the street 
crossing by the Flower school to help 
the children cross safely. When they 
came at a quarter before nine in the 
morning Blue-Coat was there no mat¬ 
ter how stormy a day it was. When 
they started home at one o’clock Blue- 
Coat was there just the same. 

Blue-Coat wore a pair of spotless 
white gloves that could be seen for 
quite a long distance. He raised his 
right hand in its white glove and not a 
single automobile or express truck or 
taxicab or vegetable wagon dared 




68 


READING TIME STORIES 


move. The traffic stopped the second 
Blue-Goat told it to. There lay the 
street, as wide and clear as a king’s 
highway for the children to cross in 
safety. 

Sometimes Blue-Goat took time to 
pat a child on its head with one of his 
white gloves, or say, “Hello,” to the 
Littlest One from the kindergarten, or 
compliment Jimmy on his fine writing 
on the paper he was taking home to 
show his father. Once, Blue-Coat 
lifted Jimmy’s white puppy up in his 
arms and carried him across the street, 
for the puppy would not wait for the 
traffic to stand still. 

Day in and day out Blue-Goat 
helped the children. 




HELPING BLUE COAT 


69 


And one day the children had a 
happy thought. It was the first day 
of spring in the city when the sparrows 
were chirping more loudly and a cart 
full of pots of tulips and daffodils could 
be seen up the street. So it was a 
good day for happy thoughts. The 
children said to one another, “Let us 
surprise Blue-Coat. Yes, let us try 
to do something that will help him.” 
And then they whispered and laughed 
together and planned it before they 
crossed the street. 

Blue-Coat saw them running toward 
him and he raised his right hand in its 
white glove and all the automobiles 
stopped. But the children stopped 
too. They did not cross the street. 





The Children Crowded Around Their Very Own Policeman 


70 













HELPING BLUE COAT 


71 


No, the children crowded around their 
very own policeman and began talking 
to him. 

“See my white puppy, Mr. Blue- 
Coat,” said Jimmy. “I have him 
fastened now to a leash so you won’t 
have to keep him from being run over. 
I know the city wants dogs tied, not 
loose.” 

“We will never, never again run 
across the street without waiting for 
you to stop the automobiles, Mr. Blue- 
Coat. That will help you,’ ’ said Mar¬ 
jorie. 

“We are never going to buy candy 
from a cart that is uncovered,” said 
Tommy. “There is a city law about 
it, and we want to keep well.” 




72 


READING TIME STORIES 


“We are going to read the signs,” 
said another little boy, “the signs that 
say not to step on the park grass, or 
mark the letter boxes, or write on the 
school wall.” 

The Littlest One from the kinder¬ 
garten, who knew that Blue-Coat 
would keep her safe every day there in 
the crowded street did not say any¬ 
thing, but she hugged the policeman 
hard to show that she was grateful. 
How ple&sed and surprised he was! 

It was not easy for him to stand 
there in the middle of the street every 
day in the year, and in every kind of 
weather. Neither is it easy for your 
Blue-Coat to guard the streets of your 
city. But the children were going to 




HELPING BLUE COAT 


73 


help him. Are you going to help your 
Blue-Coat by trying to keep the city’s 
laws? 















76 


READING TIME STORIES 


Teddy saw himself in the mirror of a 
doll’s bureau he felt ashamed. He 
did not look like a bear at all. Even 
the rag dolls were dressed with more 
taste and style than he was. 

“You belong in the circus. You 
are a clown bear!” roared the toy lion. 

“Don’t go too close to the tiger. 
He might eat you,” brayed the toy 
donkey. 

“Would you like to borrow my cap 
and go out in the street as a dancing 
bear?” squeaked the toy monkey. 

And all the dolls smiled at Teddy 
and showed off their ruffles and rib¬ 
bons and lace. Nobody else in the 
whole Toy Shop wore red and white 




ROMPERS FOR TEDDY 


77 


rompers made of gingham. And Ted¬ 
dy had wanted to be the most ferocious 
of them all. 

For many days he sat there on his 
shelf and watched the other toys leave 
him. Each day a doll or two went 
away in the loving arms of a little 
girl mother and each doll looked back 
at him as much as to say, “Good-bye, 
we’re sorry for you, but who could 
ever want a bear dressed in a pair of 
rompers!” 

And it was the same with the toy 
animals. The white lamb went away 
bleating proudly, and the tiger growl¬ 
ed and the lion roared as they were 
bought, “Good, bye, Teddy, it is too 
bad, but what else can you expect but 




78 


READING TIME STORIES 


to stay there on the shelf. You are 
neither an animal nor a doll, only a 
little of both. It isn’t your fault. 
The Toy Man must have made a mis¬ 
take when he dressed you.” 

So the days went by and Teddy felt 
his head gathering the dust. Chil¬ 
dren came and went but he stayed 
there. He had about decided that his 
work in life would be to guard the Toy 
Shop when something happened to 
him. One morning he was suddenly 
taken down, dusted and brushed, and 
put into a box. Then he felt himself 
being carried somewhere and there was 
the rumbling of wheels and the rolling 
of a truck. At last Teddy felt his 




ROMPERS FOR TEDDY 


79 


wrappings being taken off. He was 
lifted out of his box. He was in a 
strange place. 

Tall trees stood beside the road and 
as far as he could see there was green 
grass. Real birds sang in the trees 
and there was the sound of live ani¬ 
mals, sheep, cows, a barking dog. This, 
Teddy decided, must be the edge of the 
forest where he belonged, the forest of 
fierce bears. But he saw, as he tried 
to stretch his legs, that he was still 
dressed in gingham rompers. “The 
other bears won’t have me,” he 
thought. ‘ ‘They wear their fur, and I 
can’t unbutton this dress of mine. The 
other bears will make fun of me.” 




78 


READING TIME STORIES 


to stay there on the shelf. You are 
neither an animal nor a doll, only a 
little of both. It isn’t your fault. 
The Toy Man must have made a mis¬ 
take when he dressed you.” 

So the days went by and Teddy felt 
his head gathering the dust. Chil¬ 
dren came and went but he stayed 
there. He had about decided that his 
work in life would be to guard the Toy 
Shop when something happened to 
him. One morning he was suddenly 
taken down, dusted and brushed, and 
put into a box. Then he felt himself 
being carried somewhere and there was 
the rumbling of wheels and the rolling 
of a truck. At last Teddy felt his 




ROMPERS FOR TEDDY 


79 


wrappings being taken off. He was 
lifted out of his box. He was in a 
strange place. 

Tall trees stood beside the road and 
as far as he could see there was green 
grass. Real birds sang in the trees 
and there was the sound of live ani¬ 
mals, sheep, cows, a barking dog. This, 
Teddy decided, must be the edge of the 
forest where he belonged, the forest of 
fierce bears. But he saw, as he tried 
to stretch his legs, that he was still 
dressed in gingham rompers. “The 
other bears won’t have me,” he 
thought. ‘ ‘They wear their fur, and I 
can’t unbutton this dress of mine. The 
other bears will make fun of me.” 




60 


READING TIME STORIES 


Tears filled Teddy’s eyes so that, at 
first, he was not able to see who had 
taken him out of the box in which he 
had traveled so far on a train and in a 
truck. But he felt a kind kiss on his 
funny little brown nose. He heard a 
voice. The little girl in a gingham 
apron who held Teddy in her arms was 
speaking. 

“Kiss Teddy, Rose-Ann,” the little 
girl was saying to the doll who wore, 
also, a gingham apron. “Teddy has 
come all the way from the city to play 
with us all summer here in the country. 
He is going to be your brother, Rose- 
Ann.” 

Rose-Ann kissed Teddy again, just 
as if she liked the thought of having 




ROMPERS FOR TEDDY 


81 


a bear for a brother. Not one of those 
proud city dolls in the Toy Shop would 
have kissed him, Teddy thought. But, 
in spite of all this kindness, the little 
bear had a feeling of sadness. After 
all, he did not belong here. It was 
not a bear country. But just then his 
new mother spoke again. 

“Grandfather,” said the mother of 
Rose-Ann and Teddy, “did you ever 
see a real, live bear around here?” 

“Yes, indeed,” said a deeper, older 
voice in reply. “And I saw the tracks 
of a little cub this spring up at the 
sugar grove. He had been walking 
around the sugar house. I saw his 
foot prints in the snow.” 





Having a Bear for a Brother 

82 








ROMPERS FOR TEDDY 


83 


“Oh,” said Teddy’s mother happi¬ 
ly, “how wonderful!” 

And the little bear felt suddenly hap¬ 
py and proud. “I am that bear,” 
he tried to say. “I belong here. Be¬ 
fore they dressed me in rompers I think 
I lived in the woods and ate maple 
sugar in the spring.” 

His mother and his doll sister, Rose- 
Ann, seemed to agree with Teddy. 
They hugged him closely and his heart 
beat with joy under his fur and his 
gingham dress. 




Scamper-Toes’ 

Thanksgiving. 

“Everything is ready for Thanks¬ 
giving Day, isn’t it, Grandmother?” 
Betty asked as she went carefully to 
the big pantry holding the golden 
pumpkin pie that Grandmother had 
just taken from the oven. “The tur¬ 
key is stuffed and the cranberry jelly 
is made and there are two mince pies, 
and . ’ ’ Betty stopped for breath be¬ 
cause she was too excited to go on. 
She and Brother had come all alone, 
in the care of the conductor, on a fast 
train for this country thanksgiving 
with Grandmother and Grandfather. 


84 


SCAMPER TOES THANKSGIVING 


85 



Father and Mother would come to¬ 
morrow, on the bright Thanksgiving 
Day itself, but this was the merry day 
before, the time of getting ready for 
the fun. 

“And I saw old Scamper-Toes, the 
squirrel that we used to see last sum¬ 
mer on the orchard wall,” Brother said 








86 


READING TIME STORIES 


from the corner of the kitchen where 
he was taking out walnut meats for 
the nut cake. 

“Did you, Brother?” Grandmother 
said. “It has been a poor season for 
old Scamper-Toes, few nuts, and he 
isn’t as spry on his feet as he used to 
be.” 

“Oh, we are so sorry,” Betty’s face 
grew sober. Then it brightened 
again, for Grandfather called the chil¬ 
dren to come out in the sunshine. It 
was so gay and warm, almost like 
Indian summer. 

Grandfather was in the barn. He 
had just cut some fat back logs for 
the fireplace if the weather should 




SCAMPER TOES THANKSGIVING 


87 


change. Now he was selecting the 
largest, rosiest apples from the barrel 
for Grandmother’s silver dessert bowl. 

“Everything’s ready for Thanks¬ 
giving, Grandfather,” Brother said. 

“Well, now, I don’t know about 
that,” Grandfather said. “There are 
the birds. The quail will guard my 
corn field all winter, and there are the 
chickadees and the woodpeckers and 
the snowbirds who will take care of the 
orchard.” 

“Oh, could we give them a Thanks¬ 
giving dinner?” Betty asked. 

“We could,” said Grandfather, 
“and first I will make them a dining 
table.” 




88 


READING TIME STORIES 


So Grandfather took his tool box 
and some boards to the orchard and 
he made and nailed a little low shelf 
to one of the apple trees. Then Betty 
spread all kinds of good things for the 
birds, on their Thanksgiving dinner 
table, cracked corn and grain and some 
dried sunflower seeds and a piece of 
fat suet that Grandmother brought 
out when she saw what Grandfather 
and the children were doing. 

“Everything’s ready for Thanksgiv¬ 
ing now,” Grandfather said as he 
started back to the barn with his tools. 

“And we will gather all the chestnuts 
that are left on the other side of the 
orchard wall,” Brother decided. 




SCAMPER TOES THANKSGIVING 


89 


Whisk, whir! A streak of gray, 
and there stood Scamper-Toes, a little 
all-alone squirrel on top of the wall 
looking at the children. He had been 
waiting for those nuts. Indeed he had 
wanted the walnuts that Grandfather 
had gathered and cracked for the 
Thanksgiving nut cake. But what can 
one do when one is just a squirrel, and 
the other nut gatherers are so much 
larger and carry baskets? Didn’t he 
remember those children, though? 
Yes, that was the little girl on whose 
shoulder Scamper-Toes had perched 
last summer while the boy fed him one 
of Grandmother’s seed cookies? Then, 
thought Scamper-Toes, it is all right 




We Don't Need These Nuts,” Said Betty 


90 

















SCAMPER TOES THANKSGIVING 


91 


for them to take my nuts. “Chee, 
chee , go ahead, my friends,” Scamper- 
Toes chattered. 

Betty looked up and saw him dressed 
in his gray fur coat, watching them 
from the wall. 

“Brother,” said Betty, “we don’t 
need these nuts at all. Let’s crack 
open the burrs with a stone and leave 
them for Scamper-Toes’ Thanksgiving 
dinner. There he is, waiting for them. ’ ’ 

So that was what they did. The 
basket went back to the kitchen empty. 
And Scamper-Toes had a busy day 
filling his house in the hole in a tree 
just above the orchard wall with nuts 
for stormy days. 




92 


READING TIME STORIES 


How spicy and sweet the kitchen 
smelled. There was nothing left to 
do but look forward to seeing Father 
and Mother. 

“All ready for Thanksgiving Day,” 
the children said once more. 

“Yes indeed,” said Grandfather, 
“the dumb creatures at our door are 
fed.” 

“And Scamper-Toes too,” said 
Brother. 









The Hen that Laid a 
Golden Egg 

Biddy Short-Legs was a hen of al¬ 
most daily surprises. She was a red¬ 
dish hen with short yellow legs, and 
Grandmother told Nancy, when Nancy 
came early in the spring to stay for a 
nice long time at the farm, that Biddy 
Short-Legs was a hen to be depended 
on. 

“She lays an egg almost every day 
in the laying season,” Grandmother 
told Nancy. “If you like, Nancy, I 
will put Biddy Short-Legs into your 
care. You may look for her eggs and 
I will use them for cakes and cookies for 
you. 


93 


94 


READING TIME STORIES 


That would be fun! And Nancy 
needed something to make her happy 
there at Grandfather’s big farm. It 
was so wide that she could hardly find 
her way about it. There was no other 
child for Nancy to play with. And 
the frogs, the early birds, and the wind 
in the trees sang in a lonesome way to 
her. 

But each morning there was the joke 
that Biddy Short-Legs played on 
Nancy. Yes, she was a hen who could 
play jokes. She hardly ever laid her 
egg in the same place, and when Nancy 
did find it, why, Biddy would cackle 
in a cheerful, chuckling kind of way 
as if she were laughing. 





Nancy Almost Cried 




95 








96 


READING TIME STORIES 


There was the day when Nancy 
wandered through the new grass of 
the meadow down to the brook where 
the willow trees grew thickly. And she 
was not quite sure which way led back 
to the barnyard. Nancy almost cried, 
but she suddenly heard a merry cackle. 
There, in a nest she had made for her¬ 
self in the grass, was Biddy Short-Legs 
with her daily egg. And she hurried 
home through the pasture, showing 
Nancy the way. 

There was the day when Nancy 
wished she had something with which 
to trim her doll’s hat for the spring. 
The farm was a long way from any 
store. “How beautiful that one yellow 





HEN THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG 


97 


feather in your red tail is, Biddy Short- 
Legs!” Nancy said as she scattered 
corn for the hens that morning. 

“Cluck, cluck,” said Biddy, scratch¬ 
ing the ground very hard, and all at 
once out fell the yellow feather from her 
tail. It was her only yellow feather 
and she had given it to Nancy to trim 
her doll’s hat. 

Sometimes this hen laid her egg in 
a corner of the barn, and sometimes 
in Grandmother’s wood basket at the 
back door. Once Nancy found it in 
a pile of shavings in the woodshed. 
But one thing Nancy could be sure of. 
Biddy Short-Legs did lay an egg 
regularly. The fun was trying to find 
it. 




98 


READING TIME STORIES 


Easter came ever so late that year. 
The day before, Grandmother said, 
“Take my big yellow bowl, Nancy, and 
find as many eggs as you can. I will 
sew them up in bright pieces of calico 
and we will boil them in a large kettle 
to make colored Easter eggs.” 

So Nancy started out with the bowl 
and she found six eggs in a very short 
time. But none of them was Biddy 
Short-Legs’ egg. Of this Nancy could 
be sure, for the small red hen followed 
her clucking in a worried way. It was 
as if she did not know herself where she 
had laid her egg and hoped that Nancy 
would be able to show her. 

“Mooly-Cow’s stall, that corner 
back of the barn door, behind the feed 




HEN THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG 


99 


box—” Nancy looked in all these 
places, but there was no egg there. 
Biddy was fussing at the foot of the 
ladder that led to the hay now, so 
Nancy climbed up, although she had 
never known of a hen flying up so high 
just to lay an egg. And as Nancy 
reached the top, she had such a sur¬ 
prise that she nearly fell off the ladder. 

There, in the hay, lay an egg that 
was just the size Biddy Short-Legs al¬ 
ways laid, but it was a bright gold! 

“There was a goose once who laid 
golden eggs,” Nancy said to herself, 
hardly daring to touch it, “but it 
doesn’t seem to me that a plain, farm 
hen could do anything so wonderful.” 




0 




u 


Come Right Down and We Will Play!” 


100 










HEN THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG 


101 


“She didn’t. I painted it.” The 
voice came from a merry faced boy in 
overalls who rose up before Nancy out 
of his hiding place in the hay. “That 
red hen laid her egg up here,” he said, 
“and I thought it would be nice to 
make it into an Easter egg for you, 
I’m the new farm superintendent’s boy, 
but I’ve been hiding because I don't 
know you. I’d like to play with you. 
though.” 

“Come right down and we will 
play,” Nancy told the boy, putting 
the golden egg carefully with the 
others. “I’ve been wishing I had some¬ 
one to play with.” 




102 


READING TIME STORIES 


And Biddy Short-Legs, watching 
them, gave a particularly merry cackle. 
That egg of hers had really outdone 
itself! 















The Rain Did Not Want the Garden to Be Lonesome 


The Lonesome Garden 

Deep down in their house of earth 
the seeds and roots of the garden were 
lonely. They knew that some day they 
would bloom in pink and blue morn- 

103 


104 


READING TIME STORIES 


ing glories and red roses and gay sun¬ 
flowers lifting their heads up so 
proudly toward the sun. But here, 
in the darkness of the ground, they 
were not happy. They wished for com¬ 
pany to share with them their cold, 
damp little rooms. And the seeds and 
roots of the garden wished so hard for 
company that their wish was heard. 

Crunch , crunch , they heard the 
earth all about them moving. Down 
through the ground came the Earth 
Worm to visit the garden seeds and 
roots, digging his way and letting the 
fresh air in with him as he came. The 
Earth Worm did not want the garden 
to be lonely. The seeds and roots were 
glad to see him. They opened their 




LONESOME GARDEN 


105 


doors and stretched up their arms to 
reach him, but they were not very much 
honored by his company. An Earth 
Worm is a dull visitor to have. 

Tap , tap, they heard the voice of 
the Rain. Down through the ground 
came a host of small Raindrops in their 
gray capes and hoods, and as they 
came they moistened the earth around 
the seeds and roots. The Rain did 
not want the garden to be lonely. And 
the seeds and roots were glad to wel¬ 
come the Rain. They opened their 
doors wider and stretched their arms 
up higher to catch the little gray drops, 
but they still wished for company. 
The voice of the Rain was not as 
cheerful a voice as they would have 
liked to hear. 




106 


READING TIME STORIES 


Warm, warmer, scorching; the seeds 
and roots felt the family of Sunbeams 
come down through the earth to call 
on them. The Sunbeams were dressed 
for the visit in bright gold and they 
carried flaming torches to burn their 
way as they came. The Sunbeams did 
not want the garden to be lonely. The 
seeds and roots stayed a little while 
to thank the Sunbeams for coming 
to see them, and then they hurried 
away toward the air and light. They 
thought it was kind of the Sunbeams 
to come down to them there in their 
home of earth, but they made the place 
uncomfortably warm. 

Up, up went the bursting seeds and 
roots until they stood bravely above 




LONESOME GARDEN 


107 


ground. They stood there in their 
leaves, their buds, and their colors. 
The morning glories climbed above the 
wall. The sunflower went up so far 
that she was able to see the road and 
all who passed by. The roses opened 
their red blooms and filled the air with 
perfume. The garden was now full 
of flowers and very beautiful, but it 
was still a lonesome garden. It was 
alone from sunrise until sunset. 

“Now I can go to a field I know 
where there is a farmer who needs my 
help,” the old Earth Worm could be 
heard saying as he took his crunching, 
digging way a long distance off. “I 
have done my duty by the flowers. I 
am all through with them.” 




108 


READING TIME STORIES 


“ Patter , patter , we will send our 
moisture to the other gardens farther 
away,” said the Raindrops as they 
sailed off in a soft, white cloud far up 
in the sky. “We have made our call 
on these flowers. Now we are through 
with them.” 

And all day long the sun shone on 
the garden until it was tired of the 
brightness and the heat. The Sun¬ 
beams were dressed so much more gor¬ 
geously than they that the flowers be¬ 
gan to hang their heads. All the 
Sunbeams did was to shine and think 
how bright they were. They made the 
garden droop and feel lonely again. 

But one day, when it was summer, 
the gate to the garden opened and 
a Child came in. 




LONESOME GARDEN 


109 


“Now we will be picked and that 
will be the end of us,” rustled the 
flowers. But this did not happen at 

all. 

The Child carried a large, green 
watering pot. The stream of water 
that came from it was a welcome 
shower for the thirsty garden. The 
Child’s smile was more softly warm 
than the sun. After he had watered 
all the garden, the Child raked the 
path and pulled out the weeds that 
were trying to choke the roots of the 
flowers. He touched the blossoms 
gently and picked only one flower, a 
red rose to carry to his mother. 

“Every day I will come out here with 
my watering pot,” the Child told the 





“Every Day 1 Will Come Out Here ivith My Watering Pot ” 


110 

















LONESOME GARDEN 


111 


f. 


garden. “School is over now, and I 
will take good care of the flowers,” 

How proudly and straight the sun¬ 
flower stood, watching the Child, and 
how sweetly the roses were perfumed 
for him. Now the garden was no 
longer alone. Better than its care in 
the earth, or by the rain and the sun, 
is the love for a garden that a Child 
can show. 

Finis 













ALBERT WHITMAN’S 
EASY READING JUVENILE LIBRARY 
“JUST RIGHT BOOKS” 

Profusely illustrated in colors; reinforced cloth binding; 
printed in large type on fine paper; jackets in color; 
price each, 60c. 

Open Air Stories 
Gingerbread Boy 
Doll Land Stories 
Tale of Curly Tail 
Reading Time Stories 
Knowledge Primer Games 
Jolly Polly and Curly Tail 
Flower and Berry Babies 
Little Boy France 
Busy Fingers Drawing Primer 

banners Town 
The Vegetable and Fruit Children 
The Dinner That Was Always There 
Six Tiddly Winks and the A to Zees 


PUBLISHED BY 

ALBERT WHITMAN & COMPANY 
CHICAGO, U. S. A. 


The Tiddly Winks 
Surprise Stories 
The Party Twins 
j Washington’s Boyhood 
i Comical Circus Stories 
Real Out-of-Door Stories 
Fifty Funny Animal Tales 
In and Out-Door Playgames 
Child’s Garden of Verses 
The Treasure Twins 

Happy Manikin in 



















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